House of the Dragon may undo Game of Thrones’ ending through prophecy

More House of the Dragon dives into the mysteries of the Targaryens’ past, the less it seems to take place in the same universe as Game of Thrones. The series could be considered a prequel. Game of Thrones, it’s becoming clear that the show’s creative team is comfortable diverging from the original, concluded HBO series in favor of a story that’s still ongoing in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series. By Martin’s own account, his books are setting up a longer and much more complicated ending.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones, all of A Song of Ice and Fire, and the first eight episodes of House of the Dragon.]

There is a division between House of the Dragon Game of Thrones At least in the moment, it’s more about emotions and themes than plot. You can find out more at www.in. House of the Dragon episode 8, “The Lord of the Tides,” the show delved even deeper into Aegon the Conqueror’s royal prophecy, which suggests a Targaryen has to sit on the Iron Throne to save Westeros from a frozen and deadly threat that waits to the north.

While this prophecy has obvious significance for A Song of Ice and Fire enthusiasts, who are aware of the story’s direction and know that The Others have begun their journey, it also impacts on House of the DragonIt is more urgent. The prophecy is an animating force for the series’ characters. It interacts differently with each person, so the idea of fate, fortune and destiny shapes their lives and makes them unique.

Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO

Viserys considers the prophecy a final legacy to be passed, the duty of the king to safeguard his kingdom and people. For Rhaenyra, it’s a lifelong sword of Damocles, a threatening responsibility she carries as she moves toward the Iron Throne. For Alicent, and maybe for her children, it’s a misunderstood warning, a last-minute sign that Viserys may have changed his mind on who the realm really needs to rule after his death.

Long before this prophecy manifests in Westeros, it’s guiding the hands of everyone who hears it and leading them to shape the events of history. Although Game of Thrones never managed this kind of complicated relationship with the premonitions in its story, the idea that a premonition could shape action is key to Martin’s books. In A Song of Ice and Fire, as with many fantasy series, it often matters less whether a prophecy is true or not, and more how the threats or promises it brings guide the decisions of the people it’s about.

The relationship between them is not. House of the DragonIt is not just thematically fragile, but also its predecessor. According to House of the Dragon showrunner, Ryan Condal, the addition of the Aegon’s prophecy is one that came from Martin himself, and given how many different times Martin has written versions of this prophecy (or similar ones) into A Song of Ice and Fire, his doubling down here certainly seems important. And if it’s important, then it must mean that the series’ ending can’t be the same as the one from HBO’s Game of ThronesWhere it didn’t really matter.

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

The invasion of the White Walkers in HBO’s series was a brief affair, and mostly amounted to an episode-long battle at Winterfell in the dead of Westeros’ coldest and darkest season. There were few main characters who ever faced real danger. The south was not involved and King Viserys was the only one to be killed by the most dangerous threat. Although it was a bit disappointing, the ending did not disappoint. House of the Dragon gives us our latest example that it’s also probably not the fate meant for the conflict in the book.

After all, if the only way to save the Seven Kingdoms is for a Targaryen to unite them and sit on the Iron Throne, then things have to change, since the throne and most of Westeros didn’t play a part in the Long Night, and no Targaryen really sat the Iron Throne. This is instead pointing to an eventual future in which Jon Snow will be revealed as a Targaryen, and ends up leading the kingdom. Or Daenerys might have a solid grasp of reality enough to save the realm from The Others. Maybe even another. Either way, it seems like the end of Martin’s saga will be different from the events we saw in HBO’s Game of ThronesThis means that the Long Night could get a lot more long and bleak.

There’s no way to know for sure exactly how Martin’s book series will end, or what elements it will or won’t change from the HBO series. It seems, at minimum, that House of the DragonA Song of Ice and Fire is moving closer to the end fans are expecting from it than the disappointing one in 2019. It also doesn’t hurt to know that House of the DragonIt is receiving as many episodes and endings as possible, which is a significant improvement on its predecessor.